Gratitude

Mmmmmm.... mashed potatoes... good!!















Happy on Thanksgiving Day!
















Our good friends Rob and Greg, and Grandma Lori, David's mom, on Thanksgiving!



You'd never know it from these photos, but Ariel had strep throat over Thanksgiving week. She's better, now (thanks to the miracle of antibiotics) so I'm most grateful for her health, and ours. It's a terrible feeling to see your baby sick, no matter how old she is!

I hope to feel grateful every day, not just the third Thursday of November. I'm so grateful for my daughter Ariel, who is my miracle and constantly amazes me with her intelligence, zaniness, talent and compassion... for my husband David, who made me believe in the concept of soulmates, and is my true b'sherit (Hebrew for intended one, destined one, loved one)... for my friends... for my psychotherapy practice, which gives me the chance to help other people transform their lives and is both challenging and rewarding... for all our my many blessings.

Although there are heartaches in our world, especially the emotional loss of my parents, who have chosen not to participate in our lives for reasons of their own, I choose to focus on what we have, not what we don't have. I am working through my losses, and staying focused on the positive.

Hope everyone in the U.S. had a wonderful Thanksgiving!!

Happy Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving isn't officially for another week, but it's never too soon to start reflecting on the spirit of Thanksgiving. To me, that's about gratitude, and also about remembering that people from different cultures can come together in harmony. Which, of course, seems like a fitting allegory for Chinese adoption (of course, now that adopting from China is on my mental radar, it seems that so much of life is a reminder of this journey... ever notice that?)

I've always felt there was something beautiful about the story of Thanksgiving; that the Pilgrims and the Native Americans were able to share a day of bounty and thanks is a lesson that has such contemporary implications. In a time when people seek to connect to their specific cultural roots (African Americans, Asian Americans, Jewish Americans, et al) it's easy to feel all too separate and divided. In truth we are both - we are products of our diverse heritages, and we are also all (at least in the U.S.) Americans - and for those of us adopting from China, it may be a challenge to incorporate those differences within our families. Or so I anticipate, as at this point it's all conjecture. But sometimes I really do wonder what I can expect in raising a Jewish Chinese American daughter! Thanksgiving Day is a reminder that we're all part of a greater identity, as members of the human race.

Thanksgiving is above all a day of giving thanks for what we have - a timely reminder at this time that shall one day be known as The Longest Wait, when the focus can often be on what we don't have (our children!!). I'll be writing about gratitude in a different post.

A cyber-handshake to our visitors...

Hello, out there! Yes, I'm talking to you. Yes, you! Thank you for reading our blog and sharing this journey with us. Most of you are on the same rollercoaster ride to our children in China and some of you are just stopping by to catch up. Whoever you are, please take a moment and leave a comment. We get a lot of hits every day but people rarely leave comments, and we'd love to know who's visiting. Thanks so much!!

Nine Month Anniversary

Today is the nine month anniversary of our LID. We've been "paperwork pregnant" for a full term. Apparently, however, that nine month term only applies to human mothers. Elephants have a typical gestation period of 22 months, the longest pregnancy of any mammal. I've always liked elephants. As a child, the Babar books were particular favorites of mine. I once spent an afternoon getting to know an orphaned elephant who had been rescued from Africa. I helped to bathe her, rode on her back and pried her trunk off my bracelet (and the tip of an elephant's trunk is extremely agile - she could literally pinch the bracelet; clearly she had good taste in jewelery!). At one time I even collected elephants. Yes, I love elephants. But geez, I never wanted to identify with them!!

The elephant in the photo is pregnant. Look at her, bulging with her calf, probably wondering when this ordeal will be over and yearning to nuzzle her baby. I imagine she's grumpy and tired, and just wants this pregnancy over with, already, for her limbo to come to an end. She's probably tired of carrying around that extra weight.

I feel her pain!! Only I'm tired of the extra "wait"!!

Congratulations...

...to all the families who referred their referrals on Thursday and finally got to see the faces of their children. We're really thrilled for our neighbor and RQ buddy, Dee and her husband, who are looking forward to bringing their adorable baby Amy home!